Firm on putting a stop to the internal squabble and blamegame on the Ram Setu controversy, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday decided to wield the disciplinary stick and send out a terse message its senior ministers and party leadership that ??uncalled for comments in public?? would not be taken kindly.
Ms Gandhi?s gag order to the senior leadership, coming in the form of a statement issued by the media chairperson Janardan Dwivedi, seemed to be aimed at all the protagonists concerned?tourism minister Ambika Soni and minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh who started the controversy by seeking the former’s resignation as well as senior leader RK Dhawan, who also jumped in.
??The Indian National Congress believes that maintainence of discipline by its members in the party or in the government is of utmost importance,?? the party statement said. While asserting that the party gave ample intra-party scope for conveying views, it maintained that ??airing of such views in public generated unnecessary and avoidable confusion??.
Party circles felt that the uncharacteristic toughness demonstrated by Ms Gandhi on Thursday could have been necessiated after Soni’s attempt to get back at her detractors after her meeting with the PM this morning. With a seemingly PM’s satisfactory response, she rejected the contention that she was hurt over the attacks from partymen.
Soni had earlier offered to resign, saying she would immediately step down if asked to do so by either the PM or the Congress president.
Party circles, however, interpret the AICC statement as an indication that the threat to Soni may have passed. “In the specific context of the Ram Setu issue, in view of the prolonged withdrawal of the affidavit, reflecting the party’s and the government’s alacrity and sensitivity on matters of personal belief and faith, the matter should be treated as closed and uncalled for comments be avoided,” said the statement.
